dar334

When all else fails, read the instructions.

I’ve been guilty of not reading the instructions more times then I can remember.  I take everything out of the box and just start putting it together like I’ve done it a hundred times before.  In some cases I have done it a hundred times before, or more like ten maybe.  Take an automatic drip coffee maker for example.  It’s obvious where the coffee and filter would go, and obvious where the water goes, and there’s only one cord to plug in so the only instruction I probably need to read is how to set the time and maybe how to program it so my coffee is ready when my alarm goes off in the morning.  Don’t even get me started on “Oh, those are just extra parts.”

Yesterdays email brought me the MI Area MIconnect for June 20, 2018.  I opted to receive these emails but rarely go farther then skimming the headlines.  As my eyes were skimming I stopped on the headline “ACs Mixed on One Church Model”, most likely because in the short portion of the article that was visible I noticed the abbreviation “LGBTQ”.  I read this article and even clicked on a link that took me to a YouTube video of a speech by Reverend Ron Renfroe which I then listened to in it’s entirety.  In my shallow little mind I mentally noted:  Church politics – Take 1.

Rarely do I probe into anything deeper than tonight’s supper, unless it relates to my Christian journey, and if I were to do some probing on something else, politics would be at the very bottom of my list.  I can’t focus, I don’t understand, I have no desire.  Even the mere thought of discussing anything to do with politics is quickly deleted from my train of thought.  I will leave that to those who know.

Unfortunately, the church in general is right smack dab in the middle of a huge debate revolving around sexual morality.  For the first time in my life I feel like I am being hit personally with a political debate.  The final decision will directly affect my safe place, my church, in the arms of God.  And for the first time in my life I find myself pondering, reading, grasping every opinion put in front of me.  I’m seeking out opinions of people I look up to, people I admire, people that are far more knowledgeable then I will ever be on the subject.  I’ve now decided I need to seek my guidance from the One that wrote the Instruction Book.  If we go by His instructions, reading every step, leaving no parts unused, there’s no need for a debate.  He has graciously laid it all out, in black and white, and red all over.  (Pun intended)  With that, I filed my thought process on sexual morality in the back of my mind.

When I got up this morning, the subject of LGBQRSTUV was the last thing on my mind.  After getting ready for work I grabbed my coffee and headed to my Quiet Room for some time in the Word.  When that dreaded “it’s time to close the book” alarm sounded I had just started writing a prayer.  Besides the quiet of that room, another useful advantage is I can just get up and walk away leaving everything right where it is, which is what I did.

After arriving safely at work, as I was doing the paperwork shuffle at my desk, I started yesterday’s podcast from Mike Fabarez.  Mr. Fabarez currently holds the number one spot on my list of “radio evangelists”.  He was talking about judging which pulled that “One Church Model” topic back to the front burner.  It was here that something spurred me to grab a piece of paper and write:

I want a church that teaches the entire Book.  No topic should be left out just as no step should be missed.  It’s up to me to discern from the Instructions how I will live my life and I will stand in judgement upon my arrival at the throne.  The true teacher is Jesus Christ himself and the Bible is our Instruction Manual.   It’s going to take a lot of reading, assembling, tearing apart, starting over, and I will inevitably end at the throne partially assembled, sporting blood, sweat, and tears.

We, as humans, make everything difficult.

-dar